1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a buckle stalk for releasably connecting a seat belt to a vehicle body or the like.
2. Description of the prior Art:
Buckle stalks for use in a vehicle such as an automobile are known which generally have at one end an anchor member, such as an anchor plate, adapted to be fastened to a vehicle body or the like and at the other end a buckle adapted for releasably holding a seat belt. The anchor member and the buckle are connected to one another by a stalk member.
With this arrangement, in order to realize good operativity, the stalk member, which is occasionally composed of a webbing, must be somewhat self-supporting so as to keep the buckle in a predetermined position relative to the seat. A self-supporting construction was disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 143450/1984, for example, in which the webbing is covered by a separate resin cover and in which the anchor member has an integral tonguelike projection extending longitudinally of the webbing to support an anchor-attaching portion of the webbing.
In general, the webbing is used with opposite ends each being folded back and sewn to provide a loop. To fasten the webbing to the buckle, a pin is inserted through one of the folded-back portions of the webbing and is secured to the buckle.
Further, in order to hold a driver or a passenger reliably, it is necessary that there is no gap between the webbing and the pin so as to prevent any relative movement between the webbing and the buckle. One attempt was proposed by Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open publication No. 75155/1985, for example, in which the webbing is sandwiched between the pin and a part separate from the buckle and secured thereto. Another attempt was proposed by Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 106861/1985, for example, in which the webbing is sandwiched between the pin and a contact surface formed on the buckle cover.
However, if the anchor member is formed with an integral tongue like projection to assist in making the stalk member self-supporting, it is possible to reduce the weight and cost of the anchor member by only limited amounts, since the anchor member is usually made of metal. lf the webbing is not located in a proper position relative to the anchor member, there would be a danger that the webbing can bear the load only inadequately when received an impact.
Further, if a separate part is used to eliminate a gap between the webbing and the pin, the total number of component parts of the buckle stalk increases, thus reducing the weight and cost of the buckle stalk, as well as the number of steps of assembling the buckle stalk, by only limited values or amounts. If the buckle cover is formed with a contact surface, the wear of the webbing and of the contact surface would result in inadequate reliability of the support of the webbing and also in inadequate stableness of the fastening of the pin.